Craigslist Ad for a ‘Really Really Skinny Person’ Is Almost Definitely a Joke

When you were a kid, did your parents ever try to guilt you into finishing your dinner by evoking imagery of starving children who’d be elated to have the opportunity to eat the scraps of breading and the strips of fat you left on your plate? Well, your parents were kind of jerks. But lesser jerks than these parents, who posted an ad on Craigslist seeking a “really really skinny person” to help teach their children a lesson about the importance of not wasting food:

While several news outlets are reporting otherwise, this ad is almost definitely a joke. Is the phrase “extension of an emancipated claw/hand” not a total tip-off? (I believe they meant “emaciated,” by the way.) This is the most accurate illustration of that scene I could find on Shutterstock:

But the point, despite the Daily Mailand the Huffington Post’s insistence on treating the ad as though it’s legitimate (the Mail goes on to quote expert advice from the Mayo Clinic about not making a child eat when she’s not hungry), is there’s no way this ad is serious. Take a look at Craigslist’s hilarious “Best Of” section and you’ll see that fake and satirical ads aren’t uncommon on the site. The only part of the ad that lends it even the slightest bit of credibility is the fact that the gig is offered for no pay – which, as anyone who’s ever looked for work on Craigslist knows, is pretty ubiquitous.